The use of shields for gutters or eaves troughs is well know in the prior art and many patents have issued for different types of shields. The purpose of the gutter shield is essentially to permit passage of rain water from the roof to the gutter or eaves trough while protecting the same from extraneous foreign matter such as leaves and the like, which could lead to clogging.
In practice, the use of a shield or a guard comprises a member which is apertured and permits the passage of rain water while banning the passage of extraneous material into the gutter. The shields or guards are attached in various manners to a portion to the gutter. However, many of these guards do not function as desired and access must still be had to the eaves trough for cleaning purposes.
It is also been proposed in the art to provide relatively complex structures wherein the eaves troughs are mounted for rotatable movement such that they may be emptied at desired intervals.
It is also being proposed to provide gutters which are designed to have a cover with an outer edge which curls downwardly and the water flow follows the curved portion due to its own surface tension to cascade into the eaves trough which is situated below. All extraneous material would theoretically fall to the ground. However, this concept does not always work when the volume of water becomes sufficiently large so that the surface tension is not sufficient to cause all the water to flow into the gutter. Consequently, there is an overflow.